Srdjan Gligorijević THE ARMY REFORM IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO: FACTS AND PITFALLS
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Srdjan Gligorijević
THE ARMY REFORM IN SERBIA AND
MONTENEGRO: FACTS AND PITFALLS
In view of its topicality, the Army reform stands out among the internal
and external priorities of Serbia and Montenegro. This is confirmed by
the intensive activities carried out at different levels intended to create
conditions for the establishment of an Army which corresponds to the
real needs, broadly accepted democratic standards and the principles of
military organization of developed countries.
The reform of the entire security sector, and the introduction of civilian
and democratic control over it, as the most important issues in this area,
have been in the focus of state authorities and domestic and international
public because of their significance in the democratic transformation of
Serbia and Montenegro.
Furthermore, fundamental reform of the Army of Serbia and
Montenegro is one of the main prerequisites for membership of Serbia
and Montenegro in the Euro-Atlantic security integration, which is
certainly among the most vital state interests. The progress of democracy
in Serbia and Montenegro, its reputation in the international community
and integration into modern international institutions considerably
depend on the speed and success in managing this issue.
Very important steps, concerning Army reform in Serbia and
Montenegro, have been taken in normative and institutional area in
terms of the introduction of democratic and civilian control over it, the
most important ones being as follows:
The Constitutional Charter, passed in the spring of 2003, the highest
legal act of the State Union Serbia and Montenegro, puts forth the basic
principles of democratic and civilian control over the Army and other
subjects of the security sector, sometimes in an evidently original way:
193Article 41
The Minister of Defence shall coordinate and implement the defined
defence policy and shall run the armed forces in accordance with the law
and the powers vested in the Supreme Defence Council.
The Minister of Defence shall propose to the Supreme Defence Council
candidates for appointment and shall appoint, promote and relieve of
duty officers in accordance with the law.
The Minister of Defence shall be a civilian.
Article 42
After a period of two years, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the
Minister of Defence shall switch posts with their respective deputies.
Article 54
Serbia and Montenegro shall have the Armed Forces under democratic
and civilian control.
Article 55
The TASK of the Armed Forces shall be to defend Serbia and
Montenegro in accordance with the Constitutional Charter and the
principles of international law governing the use of force.
The Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro shall adopt a DEFENSE
STRATEGY in accordance with the law.
Article 56
The Supreme Defence Council shall be the Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro deciding on the use of the
armed forces.
194The Supreme Defence Council shall comprise the President of Serbia
and Montenegro and the Presidents of the member states.
The Supreme Defence Council shall take decisions by consensus.
Article 57
Recruits shall do their National Service in the territory of the Member
State whose nationals they are, with the possibility of doing their service
in the territory of the other member state if they so choose.
Article 58
Recruits shall be guaranteed the right of conscientious objection.206
Certainly, one of the main achievements in the Army reform in Serbia
and Montenegro was a decision of the Supreme Defence Council of 6
May 2002, according to which General Staff of the Army of Serbia and
Montenegro became a part of the organizational structure of the Ministry
of Defence. Now, it is accountable to the Ministry, whereby the Ministry
is accountable to the Parliament of the State Union and the Supreme
Defence Council, whose members, as mentioned above, are the
President of the State Union and the Presidents of Member States.207
On 20 June 2002, the Parliament of the former FRY passed the Law on
Security Services of the FRY which governs civilian control over four
security services at the federal level. This Law provides for the control
by the Parliament and Federal Government over Military Security
Service and Military Intelligence Service, besides other two existing
services in the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Moreover, at the session of the Supreme Defence Council held on 15
April 2003, the decision was taken to set up Military Security Service
206
Ustavna povelja Državne zajednice Srbija i Crna Gora (Constitutional Charter), Službeni List SCG,
Beograd, 2003
207
Gligorijević, Srdjan et al. Security Sector Reform in Serbia and Montenegro in Economic Review, G17
Institute, Belgrade, 2003, p. 20
195and Military Intelligence Service within the Ministry of Defence of
Serbia and Montenegro, terminating the jurisdiction of the General Staff
of the Army SM over them. The previously mentioned Law on Security
Services of FRY was not derogated by this act. The former Military
Security Service has been transformed into the Military Security Agency
and Military Police Department. On the other hand, Military Intelligence
Service has been transformed into the Military Intelligence Agency. The
Military Security Agency and Military Intelligence Agency are directly
subordinated to the Ministry of Defence and they have
counterintelligence and intelligence competence respectively, whereby
Military Police remains under the jurisdiction of the General Staff.
On April 16, 2004, the Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro passed the
Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Control of
Security Services of FRY. The Law postulates that Parliamentary
Commission for Control of Security Services shall have 14 members, i.e.
nine from Serbia and five from Montenegro.
In connection with this, the Supreme Defence Council, at the session
held on 2 October 2003, sent proposal to the Ministry of Defence to
open dossiers of the Military Security Services and to make them
available to all interested persons, according to the internal rules and
regulations.
Pursuant to Article 66 of the Constitutional Charter, the competences of
military courts, prosecutors and public attorneys shall be transferred to
the civilian juridical bodies of the Member States in accordance with the
law. Until the enactment of the Law on the Transfer of Competences,
military courts should continue performing their duties. Pursuant to the
Law on Implementation of the Constitutional Charter, the mentioned
Law on the Transfer of Competences should have been adopted within
six months from the date on which the Constitutional Charter came into
effect (4 February 2003) at the latest. Nevertheless, Montenegrin
parliament has passed the law on taking over the jurisdiction of the
military courts and prosecutors, on 28 July 2004. Although the Law in
question has not been passed in Serbia yet, the Constitutional Charter
stipulation on transfer from military judiciary system to civilian one is a
196very positive step in the process of establishing civilian control over the
Army.
Also, for the first time the problem of civil service has been regulated by
the Ordinance adopted at the Council of Ministers of Serbia and
Montenegro, at the session held on August 27, 2003. This Ordinance
created legal grounds for civil service or military service without
carrying arms. According to the Decision signed by the Minister of
Defence Boris Tadic on 17 November 2003, recruits of the Army of
Serbia and Montenegro who opt for civil service will be able to perform
their service in one of 370 institutions all over Serbia and Montenegro.
Civil service shall last 13 months. The Instruction for the application of
provisos governing civil service, issued by the Ministry of Defence,
emphasizes that a person performing civil service shall be equal in all
rights and duties to the soldier in the Armed Forces. If possible, the
recruit shall perform civil service in his residence town. Otherwise, he
shall perform civil service in the nearest town where there are
institutions or organizations planned for the civil service.
At the session held on December 27, 2002, the Supreme Defence
Council made the decision that activities concerning the security of state
borders shall be taken over by police following the enactment of the
appropriate legislation, and in accordance with set dynamics and
material, organizational and personnel possibilities. The Council of
Ministers of Serbia and Montenegro made a decision which came into
force on August 9, 2003, according to which the Army SM will
renounce material resources concerning state border security to the
Ministry of the Interior of Montenegro, while officers and NCOs of the
Army SM, if needed, may be temporarily disposed to positions relating
to the borders security in the Ministry of the Interior of Montenegro.208
The deadline for the transfer of activities and resources concerning
borders security and temporarily outsourcing of personnel to the
Ministry of the Interior of Montenegro is December 31, 2003. Also, the
Ministry of the Interior of Serbia announced that it would start taking
over the state border control as of the end of 2004. This process is
208
Ibid. p. 25
197planned to be implemented in stages, by gradual taking over of the state
border sector, to end by 2005.
In financial area, a rather notable decision was made by the former
Federal Government, in autumn 2002, according to which the central
military Accounting Center, through which all financial transactions for
the Army used to go, was displaced from the General Staff of the
Yugoslav Armed Forces and put under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of
Defence, thus creating conditions for the Council of Ministers of Serbia
and Montenegro and Federal Parliament to have a full control over the
spending of defence budget. This step enabled annual reporting on the
budget size and structure, usually submitted to OSCE and UN.
Also, decision made by Boris Tadic, at that moment Minister of Defence
of Serbia and Montenegro, from April 22 2003, concerning
procurements for Armed Forces by which all procurements exceeding
YuD 600,000 should be carried out through the special Office
established within the Ministry of Defence, whereas procurements
valued between YuD 10,000 and 600,000 should be carried out pursuant
to the Public Procurement Law. The Public Procurement Office started
operating on 11 July 2003. The Public Procurement Office working
within the Ministry of Defence employs 75 persons; at present there are
20 persons working in the Office who underwent the appropriate
training.
At the session of the Government of the former FRY held on October
31, 2002, it was decided to introduce a stricter procedure for issuing
licenses for trade in armaments. This procedure stipulates that the
Ministry of Defence shall prepare proposals, while the Council of
Ministers of Serbia and Montenegro examines and gives its approval to
these proposals, meaning that each application for the license for trade in
armaments, military equipment and services must pass internal
procedure in the Ministry of Defence first, where it gets expert approval
(relating to quality, compliance with regulations, etc.) and then the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has to verify that the prospective export
destination is not under sanctions or international isolation. Finally, the
proposal must be granted approval by the Council of Ministers of Serbia
198and Montenegro, which examines received proposals once or twice a
week. In the meantime, an inter-departmental office has been set up,
composed of the representatives of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry
of Foreign Affaires and the Ministry of International Economic
Relations of Serbia and Montenegro, customs administration and police
of both Member States (after the Constitutional Charter was adopted, it
was limited to the representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the
Ministry of International Economic Relations). This group has prepared
a working version of the Law on Trade in Armaments, which is waiting
to enter parliamentary procedure. The issue of production of armaments
and military equipment is planned to be separated from trade. After the
adoption of new legislation governing this area, necessary conditions
will be created for pursuing efficient civilian control over the trade in
armaments and military equipment in Serbia and Montenegro. The
enforcement of this Law will regulate the state’s relation toward the
manufacturers of armaments and military equipment, at the same time
preventing the scandals our country has been involved in concerning
illicit exports of armaments to “black markets” such as Iraq and Liberia,
from happening again.
At the session of the Supreme Defence Council held on May 6, 2003, the
decision was made that the Council of Ministers of Serbia and
Montenegro should elect defence attachés at the proposal of the Minister
of Defence.
Besides traditional role of Army, it is obvious that development of the
Army capabilities go in two areas: peacekeeping missions and internal
security risks. The Council of Ministers of Serbia and Montenegro at the
session held on 11 August 2003 approved the participation of units and
servicemen of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of Serbia and
Montenegro in the United Nation’s peace operations and missions. That
participation is based on the principles of professionalism and
voluntariness. At the session held on 8 October 2003, the Supreme
Defence Council passed the decision allowing the preparations of the
Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro for participation in
International Peacekeeping Missions to begin. By the same decision,
Ministry of Defence undertook to prepare legal and other documents
199necessary for the regulation of the participation of the Armed Forces in
these missions, by which the setting for final decision for the launch of
the troops by the Federal Parliament should be established. At this
moment, Serbia and Montenegro participates militarily in peacekeeping
missions in Congo, Liberia, The Ivory Coast and Burundi.
Some significant steps have been undertaken concerning the command
structure and configuration of the Army of SM, changing in a way that
concentrated land forces into six corps and disbanded three Army-level
HQs, one divisional-level HQ and a number of units. Furthermore, air
force, air defence and navy have been transformed each into corps.209
Also, conscription period has been reduced from 12 to 9 months, with an
idea of gradual removal of conscripts from the armed forces by 2015, at
the latest.
Main pitfalls for a proficient and faster Army reform in SM are:
normative-institutional restrictions, economic limitations, technological
backwardness, non-standard social burden, and psychological barrier.
Efforts made by the state in the normative and institutional field and
subsequent activities undertaken would make possible efficient control
over the Army of Serbia and Montenegro. However, although these
developments seem encouraging, there are still plenty of unresolved
problems, while the enforcement of enacted laws and the enactment of
new ones are to a certain extent under question. The most apparent
example for such an opinion is the problem of National Security
Strategy. The Constitutional Charter has not foreseen that State Union of
Serbia and Montenegro have National Security Strategy, but only
Defence Strategy. National Security Strategies were planed to be enacted
at Member States level. Knowing well that Defence Strategy should
arise from National Security Strategy, the State Union has a unique
position among civilized states. In this moment, draft of the Defence
Strategy is waiting to be discussed in the State Union parliament.
Therefore, MoD is waiting for this supreme strategic document at a State
209
Edmunds, Timoty, Defence Reform in Croatia and Serbia-Montengro 2000-2003, Adelphi Paper 360,
IISS, London, 2003, p. 44
200Union level to enable shaping future reform of the Army. It is well
important because, without a clear vision of threats and challenges,
needs and possibilities, reform of the Army will remain just an
improvisation, although sometimes a very successful one. It is worth
mentioning that MoD is working on Defence Doctrine, White Paper and
Strategic Defence Review. Subsequently, next on the law-making
agenda are the new Defence Law, Army Law, Law on Trade in
Armaments and a bulk of bylaw arising out of the Constitutional Charter
and laws. On the session, held on 26 May 2004, Supreme Defence
Council, have adopted the new organizational chart of the MoD,
according to contemporary standards in that area.
Very similar to this, is problem concerning approval, provision and
control of the budget of the SCG Armed Forces. Namely, the Committee
for Defence within the Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro is in charge
of control over the Army SM, but Member States and their Parliaments
are responsible for ensuring approval of the army budget. Given that
parliamentary defence committee in Serbia has no competences over the
Army as a federal institution at present (in the Montenegrin Parliament
there is no defence committee), the approval of the army’s budget is in
the hands of the parliamentary finance committees in Member States,
which are not experts for military issues, in this case.210
Talking about financial issues, in the period of 1996-2000 defence
spending was 8% of GDP. In 2003 it was 2.9% and is tending to be
approximately 2.5% in the upcoming period. Today, Army SM has
about 78,000 members (0.74% of the SCG population) and defence
spending per member is 7,700 $. Main goal is to downsize Army
personnel in 2005 to 60,000 (0.47% of SCG population) achieving in
that way a significant increase of defence spending per member to some
13,090 $.211
Non-standard social burden over the Army SM is a consequence of all
conflicts in the course of the ’90s in the former Yugoslavia. What does it
210
Gligorijević, Srdjan et al. Ibid. p. 23
211
Djordjević, Radiša, Reform of the Defence System-Budget for 2004 and Financing Reform, CCMR,
Belgrade, 2003, http://www.ccmr-bg.org/analize/rec/word39.htm
201mean? After the armed conflicts in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and
Kosovo, as well as after the peaceful withdrawal from Macedonia, in
1992, almost all officers, NCOs of Serbian nationality, together with
members of their families, went to Serbia and Montenegro. They have
not been treated as refugees, but as an integral part of the Army. All of
them have been appointed to new military posts, although these posts
were already filled with other personnel. The same situation was with
the members of their families, predominantly working in the Army
facilities in separated republics. Today, we have an oversized Army
incomparable with any other Army in Central or Eastern Europe at the
beginning of the ‘90s. The principal task and even prerequisite for an
efficient Army reform in SM would be to resolve the problem of these
so-called “social categories”, i.e. the personnel surplus which emerged
after armed conflicts. For example, housing problem of 14,000 active
personnel is mainly the problem of “social categories”, and not of the
personnel who worked in SM in 1991, before the beginning of conflicts.
There is another problem in the Army SM, also as a consequence of war,
that is, the surplus of higher ranks: generals, colonels and lieutenant
colonels, who constitute nearly the half of all officer cadres. This was
possible due to frequent extraordinary promotions during wars.
However, some steps have been made in downsizing personnel of the
Army SM, first of all through a wide retirement process of higher ranks,
then through employment restrictions for civilians in the Army and
through the re-education and retraining process (most notable is
PRIZMA, in cooperation with British Government and the Faculty of
Organizational Science in Belgrade). At this point, it is necessary to
mention two bodies established within MoD: The Reform Team, in
December 2003, as a UNDP project and Defence System Reform Fund.
All these issues provoked a lack of interest in military profession among
youth, thus not permitting new worthy human resources reinforcement to
the Army.
Inappropriate internal organization of the Army SM and its
technological backwardness are characterized by a conscript based force
202structure with concentration on armored vehicles and artillery. Much of
the equipment is aging, obsolete and requires replacement. Of course,
final plan for this depends on Defence Strategy. Over 70% of the budget
is spent on personnel expenses leaving under 10% for modernization and
other qualitative improvements.212 As a matter of facts, current plans
have focused procurement policy towards key units within the Army,
including Special Forces, military police, engineers and NBC defence.
This is important in that these are the parts of the Army which are most
suitable both to participation in multinational operations and for the
internal security role. Connected with this, SM inherited over 40% of the
former YU defence industry, mainly small arms, mortars and artillery.
Now, once prosperous defence industry is in search for its own future.
With high potentials in this field along with solid research and
development experience in specific areas, mainly based within the
military-technical institutes a progress could be possible in defence
industry, adjusted to new needs and standards.
Among reform issues of the Army SM, special place should be reserved
for restructuring of the outdated and oversized military educational
system, putting emphasis on interoperability with NATO, especially in
areas such as command and communications, logistics and airspace
management. To that end, it is important to improve English language
skills among militaries. Fortunately, in last few years, many NATO
countries offered, on a bilateral basis, professional and language training
for members of the SM Army. Moreover, NATO has done lot, through
its tailor-made Security Cooperation Programme, in the training and
education of the members of SM Army.
Conclusion
The process of reforms in the Army of Serbia and Montenegro has
started with some very important steps, which may result in the
establishment of really efficient institution that is subject to democratic
and civilian control, separated from the conflicts among political and
interest groups, organized in line with modern standards and managed
following the principles of professionalism, capable to be a part of Euro-
212
Ibid.
203Atlantic security system. This process is still in its initial stage in spite of
significant progress that has been made. What lies ahead of state
structures, political actors, NGOs, media and general public is a range of
new legal, institutional, structural, personal, technical, social and
psychological changes which will lead towards the Army that is in every
respect able to protect the interest and values of the country, as an
integral part of the society, not as a structure which is outside of society.
This is, above all, the crucial interest of the Army SM, but also a
prerequisite for any participation in modern political and security
integrations at the level of Europe and the world.
Of course, the process of reforms in the Army of SM requires a serious,
professional and to the great extent, original approach, not a mere copy
of other cases, sensitive for peculiar conditions in which Army SM
exists, which will involve persons who are thoroughly acquainted with
ideas and problems from that area. This should comprise a creation of a
wide circle of authorities for the defence area, from all the structures
previously mentioned as actors of reforms is vital. This security
community is a safeguard that the process of army reforms is progressing
in a responsible, well-thought-out way based on broadly accepted
theoretical postulates and reliable estimates, without any improvisation
and rashness. In a society which does not have a well-developed system
of relations between civilian and security structures, this idea is much
more significant. Only a modern efficient Army, designed in accordance
with requisites of an essentially changed security environment and real
budgetary possibilities, will be able to provide overall security to the
state as a whole, as well as to every individual, but at a same time be an
important actor in the process of strengthening regional stability in South
Eastern Europe.
Srdjan Gligorijević
Defence and Security Studies Centre, G17 Institute
Belgrade
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